Lalani of the Distant Sea: List 1

by Erin Entrada Kelly
In this fantasy novel, Lalani goes on a quest to find a cure for her mother's illness.

This list covers "The Three of Them"–"Hearts of Clouds and Rocks."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5
35 words 196 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mangle
    destroy or injure severely
    She knew of his mangled face, his house of stolen treasures, and his penchant for evil trickery, but she begged to hear it all again anyway.
  2. penchant
    a strong liking or preference
    She knew of his mangled face, his house of stolen treasures, and his penchant for evil trickery, but she begged to hear it all again anyway.
  3. relentless
    never-ceasing
    There’d been no rain for months, and the heat was relentless.
  4. benediction
    a blessing or ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection
    Veyda was already half standing. Lo Yuzi snapped her fingers toward her daughter and motioned for her to sit back down. “We have benediction.”
  5. unison
    the act of occurring together or simultaneously
    “Mount Kahna,” they all said in unison—although Lalani suspected Veyda wasn’t saying a word.
  6. salve
    a preparation applied externally as a soothing remedy
    “I have more important things to do,” said Veyda. “I need plants for Toppi’s salve.”
  7. benefactor
    a person who helps people or institutions
    She closed her eyes. Please, Kahna, give us rain. Her imagination floated up and up the mountain, trying to picture a peaceful benefactor.
  8. dispense
    give or apply, as a medication
    In secrecy—no one could ever know that a twelve-year-old girl was dispensing medicine.
  9. matriarch
    a female head of a family or tribe
    Mora was an elderly matriarch of a spiteful family of loomers that Lalani often visited to get thread for her mother.
  10. spiteful
    showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt
    Mora was an elderly matriarch of a spiteful family of loomers that Lalani often visited to get thread for her mother.
  11. taint
    contaminate with a disease or microorganism
    “But she was cursed. It was clear from the moment she was born. She looked like no other infant in the village. Her smooth brown skin was tainted with stains of deep red, like blood that could not be washed away...."
  12. vengeful
    disposed to take action in return for a perceived wrong
    Mora Pasa insisted that Ziva had been kind when she was alive. But death had made her angry and vengeful.
  13. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    “I know it's not you who dried the earth,” Lalani whispered to Ziva now as she veered off the central path and walked briskly to the southern shore.
  14. brisk
    quick and energetic
    “I know it's not you who dried the earth,” Lalani whispered to Ziva now as she veered off the central path and walked briskly to the southern shore.
  15. dally
    waste time
    Then again, children weren’t supposed to dally, either.
  16. shoal
    a stretch of shallow water
    She’d searched this shoal many times before, but it had never appeared so vast.
  17. vivid
    having the clarity and freshness of immediate experience
    Lalani had been eight years old, and she remembered the day vividly.
  18. swath
    a path or strip (also figurative)
    Her mother was awake, sitting in the front room, surrounded by baskets of village clothing and swaths of fabric.
  19. enviable
    causing desire to have something possessed by another
    So many menders died in Sanlagita, which made it an unenviable job.
  20. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    They don't sing in Sanlagita, that's true. They are quiet here and sullen and feathered with ash. They have lost their voices. Or perhaps they never knew they had voices. Is that the same thing?
  21. ration
    the food allowance for one day
    “The menyoro may have to cut rations if the rain doesn’t come. If you don’t do your work, we’ll be the first to lose our share.”
  22. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    But no use to mull over bad memories.
  23. perpetually
    without interruption
    Two of the washers were old and tired, their backs perpetually rounded from decades of bending over the basins.
  24. wield
    have and exercise
    Her mouth was a straight, tight line, and she wielded judgment like a weapon.
  25. roil
    be agitated
    The Veiled Sea roiled under its strange fog behind them.
  26. hearty
    endowed with or exhibiting great bodily or mental health
    Taiting was built like a meha cane—tall and lean, but hearty.
  27. operable
    fit or ready for use or service
    That was the prize for building an operable boat—the boys were able to take their boats back with them to the village, so the fishermen could put them to use.
  28. serrated
    notched like a saw with teeth pointing toward the apex
    The knives had short, serrated blades that curved at the end, and Hetsbi was always afraid his would nick his skin if he wore it too close.
  29. preoccupied
    having excessive or compulsive concern with something
    Hetsbi had been so preoccupied with his project that he’d forgotten about Sailing Day—Cade’s brother and two cousins would be the first to sail in years.
  30. haunch
    the upper thigh and back of the hip in human beings
    The instructor crouched and moved along the edge of the boat on his haunches, like an insect ready to pounce.
  31. defiance
    an act boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
    The only time her mother showed defiance was when someone spoke out against her first husband.
  32. loom
    hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    To the west is Mount Kahna—wide, dark, and looming.
  33. raspy
    unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound
    And if Toppi’s cheeks were red and if his breaths were raspy, she wanted to know how to fix it.
  34. resolution
    a statement that solves a problem
    If there was a dispute, he had the resolution.
  35. wane
    grow smaller
    They arrived back at the Yuzi house, where Hetsbi and Lo were both still asleep, apparently unmoved by Toppi’s waning cries.
Created on Mon Feb 15 19:51:22 EST 2021 (updated Wed Feb 24 10:19:56 EST 2021)

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